Ranker’s Return

“Huh? Surrender? What does that...?” Yeongchan, acting as Alley Leader, wondered in a flustered voice.

‘Hyeonu, what are you thinking?’

Shouldn’t Hyeonu be normal and quiet if he wanted Yeongchan to proceed? How could Hyeonu act by himself?

“So with two duels, you’re going to accept one defeat and take a break?”

“Yes, that’s it. You listened very clearly. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”

“Ugh. I understand. I’m going to have to ask the others for their opinion. Do you agree to Romantic Assassin stepping down with one loss? Who is against it?” Yeongchan asked as he looked below the sparring ring.

Reina—Countess’ Hostess—nodded while Mister Moai raised his hand to make an O-mark. This meant they accepted it. The rest also didn’t show any negative reactions.

“Then Romantic Assassin will return to his seat with one loss. Remember, it is three losses. If you lose three duels, you will lose your masked fighter status and have to disclose your identity. Please remember it.” Yeongchan’s progress was smooth.

He was the famous Korean streamer, Argon, for a reason.

‘Should I just leave Yeongchan as the MC?’ This was the thought in Hyeonu’s mind as he descended from the sparring ground.

Simultaneously, Yeongchan got goosebumps. He had a premonition that he would come here often.

***

The next match was a showdown between Andromeda Predator and Mister Moai. It was exciting because it was a showdown between two fist-wielding men.

-Kyah, as expected, the arena is about fists.

-Swords and magic are good, but fistfights are the best.

-ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ Isn’t this like the fight between neighborhood dogs?

The level of the fight wasn’t high. A dogfight literally unfolded. The duel wasn’t at the high standards that the viewers and other participants had expected. Mister Moai believed in his physique and engaged in shut-up-and-attack tactics while Andromeda Predator also engaged in extreme close-combat techniques. No one could guess the identity of either of them. 

At the end of the day, such a fight could be done by any player. They just had fun. It was a match that no one had anticipated, and the match ended with Mister Moai’s victory. Then he was defeated by Superman (Jung Hanbaek) in the next match. Jung Hanbaek didn’t last long though. Joker (Ichino) won two matches, but he was immediately defeated by Reina, ending with 2 wins and 2 losses. If one more was added to his losses, then he was in danger of revealing his identity.

From then on, viewers started to look for Romantic Assassin who didn’t participate. His unique combat style had caught their attention.

-Why isn’t Romantic Assassin coming out?

-I want to see him.

-He said 30 minutes. I think it has already been one hour.

At this moment, Romantic Assassin (Hyeonu) raised himself up.

‘I’ll have to appear here if I want to beat Jung Hanbaek again.’

It was clear that no one else could face Reina. Just an hour ago, the exact same situation had happened.

‘Reina isn’t an idiot, and she won’t be beaten by the same move twice. I’m going to have to do some modifications.’

In order to call out Jung Hanbaek, he couldn’t fight Reina with his full strength. He had to look like he won out of luck, just as he had done in the first match. The question was if Reina would be hit once more. It wasn’t a joke to be ranked 10th in the arena. If she was good enough to be beaten again, she wouldn’t have won a gold medal, let alone be ranked 10th place. 

Then Yeongchan shouted from the sparring ring, “I will count to 30 seconds from now on. 30, 29, 28...”

“Stop worrying.” Hyeonu climbed back onto the sparring ring.

***

“I lost in vain before, but this time it won’t happen again.”

“Who knows? We’ll find out if we fight. If you’ve been beaten once, you can be beaten twice...”

Reina turned her head toward Alley Leader. Then she urged, “Start quickly!”

At her urging, Yeongchan quickly progressed the show, “Yes, this is a showdown between Countess’ Hostess, who has two victories and one loss, and Romantic Assassin, who also has two victories and one loss. It is safe to say that the winner of this match will gain the right to challenge the Masked Fighting King today. Then let’s start the game!!”

[Countess’ Hostess VS Romantic Assassin]

‘Be careful. Act cautiously.’

Reina had suffered an outrageous defeat in the previous showdown. She was beaten because she didn’t know anything at the time. This time, she thought she couldn’t be beaten because she roughly knew what technique Romantic Assassin was using. 

‘The magic power manifestation is really fast. Just got to be careful.’

“Hap!” Reina showed her power from the start. She started with Ice Field, created an ice barrier, and infused her sword energy with the ice attribute. It was another expression of her desire to not lose so helplessly.

Hyeonu was watching Reina quietly because he had something to prepare.

‘Tang-E, I can only believe in you.’

To be precise, he was looking at Tang-E who was behind Reina. No one thought anything about Tang-E’s appearance on the sparring ring. Tang-E was the symbol of Alley Leader and Masked Fighting King was the content created by Alley Leader.

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

Tang-E didn’t betray Hyeonu’s expectations. The moment he met Hyeonu’s eyes, he placed his buffs on Hyeonu.

‘Win, Master dude.’

Hyeonu’s heart lightened after receiving Tang-E’s buffs. This meant he could save Giant’s Nature.

[Master of Combat is activated.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘fighting energy’ has caused your stats to rise.]

[The other party is stronger than you.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[Mindset of a Murderer has activated.]

[All stats have increased by 15%.]

‘Good.’

Hyeonu liked this feeling at the start of the battle where he felt like his entire body was full. It felt like he was addicted. In particular, Mindset of a Murderer, the built-in skill of the gauntlets he obtained from the dwarf tribe, resulted in increasing his stats more than before.

‘This should be enough.’

Hyeonu was full of confidence. This was enough for him to beat Reina. There was a reason for his confidence. His stats had swelled thanks to Tang-E’s buffs.

‘Additionally, I know Reina, but Reina doesn’t know me.’

This was the biggest reason. Why did Reina previously lose in vain against Hyeonu? The reason was her lack of information regarding Hyeonu’s skills. However, Hyeonu knew many things about Reina.

‘It might sound strange.’

Hyeonu analyzed videos of popular streamers and professional gamers, including Reina, for at least two hours every day before going to bed.

‘The problem isn’t winning but how to look like I won through luck.’

Hyeonu’s thoughts lasted up to this point. Just then, Reina rushed toward Hyeonu. Reina’s and Hyeonu’s sword energies collided. Ice and wind encountered each other. Reina wasn’t pushed, but this didn’t mean that Hyeonu lost. The result was it was hard to tell who won or lost.

‘Um...’ Reina frowned.

Hyeonu’s sword energy was stronger than she had thought.

‘I didn’t know it was at this level...?’

Reina was a player who enjoyed the arena as much as hunting. The top 10 in the arena couldn’t always meet people. If no players met the criteria, it would go down to the top 1,000. Thus, Reina knew Joker (Ichino). She had faced hundreds and thousands of people. Yet Romantic Assassin was a mysterious player who wasn’t part of Reina’s data.

‘I don’t remember seeing any videos on him.’

Since he was appearing in Masked Fighting King, he must have fame and skill. Of course, it might be possible to come out without fame and skill in later episodes. However, it was currently only the second episode, when everyone’s attention was focused on them. It wasn’t a place where a middle-ranked person could come out.

‘He naturally has to be of my standards.’

“I’ll know once he reveals himself.”

Reina’s sword energy was darker than ever. She started pouring out magic power in earnest. On the other hand, Hyeonu’s sword energy had disappeared. He stood motionless while holding a broken single-edged sword. Hyeonu seemed to have no intention of moving.

‘The sword energy is gone! His magic power must be exhausted!’ Reina made a decision and moved first.

“Haap!” Reina cried out in a clear voice like a nightingale and moved her sword toward Hyeonu. It wasn’t just wielding the sword. The snow-white flowers created near her sword also flew as it moved toward Hyeonu’s neck. Up to this point, Hyeonu showed little movement. He was just holding his single-edged sword.

Reina’s sword finally reached Hyeonu’s throat.

‘Reina won.’

‘Is there a penalty? Why is he staying still?’

-Ah, why isn’t Romantic Assassin moving? Is he fixing the match?

-It doesn’t seem like he’s fixing the match. Doesn’t it look like he used a conditional skill?

-Is that why he went down earlier from the stage? 

-It makes sense to have a penalty.

Everyone had the same idea. There couldn’t be any disagreement. Hostess’ sword was about to cut Romantic Assassin’s throat. It was a natural thing. At this moment, Reina’s sword was right in front of Hyeonu’s neck. Yet it didn’t move despite being less than five centimeters away.

-??? What's going on?

-Why did it stop?

-Is this buffering?

-What buffering? This is the first time I’ve heard of buffering since A-World started? 

At this moment, a message appeared in the air. Everyone who saw the message stopped moving their hands and mouth. There was silence in the scene and in the chat room. Only silence flowed. Everyone was in shock.

[Romantic Assassin has won.]

Hyeonu had won.

***

A 10-minute break was given after the shock. All masked fighters were given a chat room mirror.

-Wait? Why did this happen?

-Reina lost? For the second time? To the same person?

-Then is that person Rain? Or Daniel? Daniel appeared the other week!

-Is this the first bug in Arena?

“It is correct. Romantic Assassin won,” Mister Moai told the people in the chat room. He had seen it well. Sword energy had risen from the broken single-edged sword and moved at a dazzling pace. Then the light cut Reina’s body first.

‘Reina wasn’t vigilant. She didn’t have any information on Romantic Assassin.’

“I think I have to give up. I don’t have the confidence to beat him.”

-Moai, have strength!!

-Moai should collide into his body like a Moai and beat him.

“Thank you for your support, but yes, I really don’t have confidence,” Moai murmured in a small voice.

***

‘Was it in vain? Deliberate? Or a coincidence?’

For 10 minutes, Jung Hanbaek struggled without saying anything. It was definite that Romantic Assassin had won. However, the process was uncomfortable. It felt more like a trick than skill. Was it luck? Romantic Assassin didn’t seem skilled.

‘This time, I will win. There won’t be a second time.’

“I will try it again.”

Flying Superman (Jung Hanbaek) climbed onto the sparring field.